


In a Bind

by melonpanparade



Series: One for the Books [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Late Night Phone Calls, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 12:16:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1744283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melonpanparade/pseuds/melonpanparade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean cheers up Armin when he’s feeling unsure about himself and his future (it’s really just Jean being a massive dork in the end though).</p>
            </blockquote>





	In a Bind

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr [here.](http://melonpanparade.tumblr.com/post/67468208040)
> 
> Many thanks to [Aespren](http://http://archiveofourown.org/users/Aespren/) for providing me with a title for the fic and the series. Without her help and persuasion, this wouldn't have been published on AO3.

Sometimes Armin finds himself staring at his phone in the middle of the night, wondering whether he should call Jean or not. It’s not weird, he reasons. After all, they’ve been friends for over a year now and they contact each other on a regular basis, although that usually happens during the day. Really, all he wants is to talk to someone with whom he can connect with on an intellectual level, and Jean just fits the bill. That’s his excuse anyway. It has nothing to do with the way he catches himself automatically smiling when he hears Jean’s voice on the other side of the phone, or the unexplainable feeling that swells in his chest when he hears Jean’s low, rumbly laugh, and it definitely has nothing to do with how he needs to talk with someone to calm himself down after having a bad dream. Who cares if it’s midnight.

He reaches over for the phone on his bedside table, palms sweaty from his dream and probably from nervousness.

“Armin?” The muffled voice on the other end is a jumble of concern and drowsiness. “It’s _midnight_. Is something wrong?”

“N-No, I—” Armin hesitates and then whispers, “I just wanted to talk.”  _To you._

“The floor is all yours, Armin.”

He breathes in deeply, feeling himself calm down already. “Let me tell you about the ocean.” The distinct rustling of blankets can be heard through the phone and Armin assumes that Jean is getting comfortable.

“Alright.”

“Well, the ocean constitutes approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface and apparently we have only explored about 5% of the entirety of the ocean.”

When he pauses, Jean interjects, “Armin, I want to hear what you  _really_  have to say about it.”

It never fails to amaze him how spot on Jean’s intuition is. Where Armin tends to divert the conversation from his own pressing, personal issues, Jean picks up on barely noticeable signs, like how his voice slightly trembles and how it speeds up just that little bit more. Jean’s not the most sensitive person, but he’s perceptive.

On top of that, Armin knows that Jean respects his opinion. It’s not just restricted to discussions over literature, no, it’s more than that. Jean respects him and is interested in him as a person, and that’s what Armin needs most. He’s not going to ridicule or mock him, and it’s precisely this fact that leads him to think that hey, maybe it’s okay to talk to Jean about things.

“I’m scared of the ocean. I love it dearly, but…”

Jean waits patiently.

“Sometimes I have this dream where I’m stranded in the middle of the ocean, stretching out as far as the eye can see. At first I only notice how beautiful it is. The water is so perfectly still that it’s eerie. I’m not going anywhere. I will never be going anywhere.”

“Armin…”

“It’s stupid, really. It doesn’t change the fact that I love the ocean.” He manages a weak laugh. “The more that I think about it, I think it’s just because I’m kind of worried about how I’m not really doing anything useful and how bleak my future seems and I just don’t know what I should be doin—” He’s rambling, he knows, but Jean stops him before he can go any further.

“Shhh, Armin. It’s okay. You’re okay.” Armin hears quiet tapping noises in the background, but he ignores it once he hears Jean say, “Just take it one page at a time.”

“Don’t you mean one step at a time?”  

“No, this is version is especially for you.” Jean clears his throat and then starts speaking dramatically, dragging out each word longer than usual. “Some say that life is like a stairway, but your life, Armin Arlert, is a like a book. Each day is a new page in your life, and you are the author, free to fill each page as you—”

Armin laughs.

“Hey, why are you laughing? I’m being all emotional and inspirational here and then you laugh?”

“But Jean, you looked that up on the internet, didn’t you?”

“No I didn’t!” Jean is holding back his laugh now, and he knows he’s been caught but denies it anyway.

“I can tell—you’re putting on that reading voice of yours.” As an afterthought he added, “I heard you typing earlier.”

“Damn. Alright, you got me there.” There it is, that low, rumbly laugh that makes Armin’s chest tighten and he’d be lying if he said he’s not disappointed when it stops.  “But seriously Armin, you’re fine living the way you are now. Take your time and something will eventually come to you.” Jean hesitates briefly, and his next words are slightly rushed. “And just remember, I’m here.”

The  _for you_ is implied, but Armin wants to hear it, no, he  _needs_ to hear it anyway.

“For me?”

“For you.”

If he closes his eyes, he can almost see Jean with that silly, confident smile on his face, and it’s enough to make him smile too.

**Author's Note:**

> *Ocean stats are from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
> 
> **Jean’s internet excerpt isn’t actually taken directly from the internet, although there’s a lot of variations floating around.


End file.
